Friday, April 2, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS – Once again, Duke is being cast as the devils of the Final Four. This time, literally.

The Indianapolis Star pulled some editions of its newspaper – and its sports editor apologized to a Blue Devils spokesman – after about 30,000 copies of the paper were delivered with a photo illustration that poked fun at the dislike of the Duke program.

On a photo of coach Mike Krzyzewski, the illustrator drew in blue ink sketch that included a bulls-eye on the forehead, horns, glasses, moles and a mustache. “LOSE!” is inked in seven times around his neck tie. The story's headline reads “Despising Duke” – and Duke is bracketed in ink with the words “It’s No Good.”

Jim Lefko, the Star’s senior editor for sports, said the illustration was replaced with a regular photo of Krzyzewski around midnight. “The designer had the story, and thought it was a clever way to illustrate it,’’ he said. “But it was a concept that didn’t meet our standards … and we wish it didn’t make the papers [that it did].”

The illustration made only the paper’s state edition, which is delivered in the city’s outlying areas. Papers delivered to the team and media hotels included a regular picture of Krzyzewski. The Star’s circulation is approximately 200,000.

“I did see that, and first thing, I thought ‘that can’t be.’ How could a newspaper do that?” Krzyzewski said. “I thought somebody doodled – actually, I thought I looked better. But it was kind of juvenile – not kind of, it was juvenile. My seven grandkids didn’t enjoy looking at it – ‘that’s not Poppy.’ So it is what it is. It’s very juvenile.

“We’ve got great kids that go to school, they graduate. If we’re going to be despised or hated by anybody because we go to school and we want to win, you know what? That’s your problem. Because we’re going to go to school and keep trying to win. You don’t like it? Keep drawing pictures.”Robbi Pickeral

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comments:

People don't despise Duke because they go to class and win. They despise Duke because the players are constantly whining and flopping for 'charge' calls given on reputation, not bball merit. And of course Coach K's arrogance and never-ending crying and yelling at the officials that results in favorable treatment a good amount of the time.

K's reaction is one of the reasons why people hate dook. A classy coach would have taken it as a compliment and said so. By criticizing the newspaper, did he make any friends amongst the sportswriters?

Success creates envy. Flops, whining, f-bombs. . come on Tarhole fans. Has K ever had a fan removed from a game for heckling? Oh, that was Roy boy. Maybe with 96 teams in the tourney next year you can avoid the NIT. Nice lay-up last night, Ginyard. Go Duke!

I don't know if it's so much jealousy of Duke as it is puzzlement and a little chagrin...

-not really a southern school, despite its location-not really a northern school, despite its student body-not really an Ivy League school-more of an Ivy safety net-hooked to a Methodist divinity school (don't you know the Catholics and Jews at Duke just hate this part)-a renowned cancer center in a school built on cigarette money (maybe this is atonement prescribed by the divinity school)-Confederate generals dancing across the entrance to Duke Chapel (how much more embarrassing can it get?)-a renowned medical school, where blood types were tragically switched and surgical instruments were found to have been cleaned with hydraulic fluid-an expensive Gothic-reproduction campus in a really crappy part of Durham

And then, of course, the nation-wide hatred. From Maine to Phoenix, from Seattle to Miami and apparently now Indianapolis, Americans hate Duke in a way that UNC, Stanford, KU, UVA, Cal, Michigan and the Ivies have never experienced. Even people who hate Carolina here in our own state pale by comparison.

People don't despise UNC because they go to class and win. They despise UNC because the players are constantly whining and flopping for 'charge' calls given on reputation, not bball merit. And of course Roy's arrogance and never-ending crying and yelling at the officials that results in favorable treatment a good amount of the time.

"UNC finishes first --For the second straight year, UNC finished first in Fewest Fouls Against, Fouls Differential and Free Throw Differential. What this means is that UNC had the fewest fouls called against them of all ACC teams. They also took 86 more free throws and had 58 less fouls called against them than their opponents during the year. And they finished next to last in the ACC. Somebody please explain to us how a team that finishes next to last repeats as the referees' most favorite team?"

About this blog

David Scott has been with the Observer for 28 years and has written about ACC, SEC and other college sports in the Charlotte region. He covers Wake Forest, South Carolina and college soccer for the Observer and (Raleigh) News & Observer.

J.P. Giglio covers the ACC for the News & Observer, where he has worked since 1997, and the Observer.

Andrew Carter covers the North Carolina Tar Heels for the Observer and News & Observer.

Laura Keeley covers the Duke Blue Devils for the Observer and News & Observer. Follow her on Twitter.

Chip Alexander covers the Carolina Hurricanes and college football for the News & Observer, where he has worked since 1979, and the Observer.

Luke DeCock has worked for The News & Observer since 2000. He covered the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL before becoming a sports columnist for the Observer and News & Observer in August 2008.

Tim Crothers is an author and former senior writer at Sports Illustrated who is joining the sports staff to write a regular column during the rest of the college basketball season.